Sports gambling laws differ from place to place. In the US, sports gambling is considered illegal practically in most states save some like Nevada, Montana etc. The legality and general acceptance of sports betting is highly regulated in numerous European countries though not criminalized, but Europeans must know the best way to bet tax free – excellent info at GertGambell.net. “Sports gambling” is considered by legalized sports gambling proponents as being a sports hobby for sports enthusiasts to enhance their fascination with a sporting event thus being a great benefit to leagues, teams and players etc.

There are plenty of sites that are reputable that do not allow US residents to bet through them although with the appearance of the internet and offshore gambling sites it is getting more difficult to govern the sports gambling actions of Americans. For quite a while the US argued up against the online gambling legalities by citing the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 passed to stop sports gambling activities between states by using wire containing devices and the telephone. Because the internet had not been yet invented at that time, legal experts today question whether the law actually pertained to the net services or otherwise.

The Justice Department of America however claimed that the Wire Act did refer to all forms of online or internet gambling. In 2006, The congress wrote the SAFE Port Act and passed it to increase the US port security. Attached to it was the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that prohibited US residents from utilization of electronic fund transfer or checks, credit cards etc to finance any internet betting activity.

The thing that was important was the reality that the act dealt just with the funding of internet betting accounts and not the specific placing of the bet. Thus an online betting law attorney Lawrence Walters stated that this bill which was passed had no impact on the betting activity of the person but centered only on the restriction of certain transactions that were financial and concerning the banks and internet gambling sites. Thus the bill did not make internet gambling illegal nevertheless it made funding ones bet or wager on the web sites illegal criminalizing the financial transaction and not the actual act of betting by way of the individual.

Rep Barney Frank then introduced in 2007, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act in order to legalize internet sports gambling and also at the same time Rep.es McDermott introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act to regulate betting sites online and collect tax on all bets made.

The nation of Antigua and Barbuda in 2003 filed a complaint against the US with the World Trade Organization that the US (based upon their sports gambling laws and ban on gambling on the internet) violated their WTO rights. The WTO ruled in their favor and though the US appealed the initial ruling was upheld on plenty of occasions. The WTO awarded Antigua and Barbuda trade sanctions worth $21 million and the right to penalize the US copyright and trademark laws.